Tiltable golf platform

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a tiltable tee apparatus suitable for use in practising golf driving. The apparatus comprises a ground support, and a tee platform rotatably mounted on the ground support. The tee platform comprises a base portion and a playing surface panel hingedly connected at a first edge portion to a corresponding edge portion of the base portion. The playing surface panel is supported at a jack support portion remote from the first edge portion on an upper end of at least one screw jack pivotally connected thereto. At least one screw jack has its lower end pivotally connected to the base portion. One of the ground support and the tee platform base portion has a fixed spur gear secured thereto in a substantially horizontal plane on the rotational axis of the rotatable tee platform, and the other has mounted thereon a drive motor with an elongate toothed drive output transmission member for driving engagement with the spur gear so as to rotate the tee platform in use of the apparatus. In use of the apparatus the tee platform may be tilted throughout a range of slope angles and slope directions by operation of the screw Jack and the tee platform rotation drive motor.

[0001] The present invention relates to a tiltable tee apparatussuitable for use in practising golf driving.

[0002] The development of playing skill in the game of golf generallyrequires more or less extensive practice on a driving range.Conventional driving ranges are, however, substantially limited in theirpractical usefulness and relevance to realistic playing conditions inthat they only simulate a level lie, whereas in reality the player willnormally encounter a wide variety of lies with diverse slope angles anddirections.

[0003] The benefits of a tiltable tee and/or rotatable tee for use inpractising golf driving have been recognised for many years and indeedthe prior art is replete with all manner of different designs withvarying degrees of complexity and emphasis on this or that feature. Todate, though, one particularly important issue has not been properlyaddressed, which is that of providing stability using an economic andreliable form of construction. It will be appreciated that therelatively rapid movements and strong forces utilised in a golf swingimpose considerable stresses of all kinds on a platform, and it isparticularly important both for the integrity of the apparatus and forthe avoidance of disturbing the player's equilibrium and concentration,that the tee platform should be as stable as possible.

[0004] Previous attempts have utilised inter alia simple hydraulic jackswhich are prone to leakage and creep or even catastrophic failure andcollapse of the platform, and more complex and relatively expensivesystems with various linkages and/or specially manufactured hightolerance components which may be subject to wear, jamming etc.

[0005] It is an object of the present invention to avoid or minimise oneor more of the above disadvantages.

[0006] The present invention provides a tiltable tee apparatus suitablefor use in practising golf driving and comprising a ground support, anda tee platform rotatably mounted on said ground support, said teeplatform comprising a base portion and a playing surface panel hingedlyconnected at a first edge portion to a corresponding edge portion ofsaid base portion, said playing surface panel being supported at a jacksupport portion remote from said first edge portion on an upper end ofat least one screw jack pivotally connected thereto, said at least onescrew jack having its lower end pivotally connected to said baseportion, one of said ground support and tee platform base portion havinga fixed spur gear secured thereto in a substantially horizontal plane onthe rotational axis of said rotable tee platform, and the other havingmounted thereon a drive motor with an elongate toothed drive outputtransmission member for driving engagement with said spur gear so as torotate said tee platform in use of the apparatus, whereby in use of theapparatus said tee platform may be tilted throughout a range of slopeangles and slope directions by operation of said at least one screw jackand said tee platform rotation drive motor.

[0007] Various forms of elongate toothed drive output transmissionmember may be used which provide substantial resistance to anyunintentional movement of the rotatable tee platform when the drivetransmission member is not being driven. Thus, for example, there may beused a worm screw rotated by the motor directly, or preferably via asuitable reduction gear system. Advantageously though there is used anelongate rack member driven by a screw jack or the like operated by saiddrive motor.

[0008] With an apparatus of the present invention the rotation andtilting of the tee platform can readily be controlled in a substantiallyprecise manner with minimal play. Further more, the use of a screw jackmechanism provides for a fail safe and positive maintenance of a desiredslope in a particularly simple and effective manner without the need forany additional braking or locking mechanisms, and with a playing surfacepanel hingedly connected at one edge to the base portion, the stabilityof the tee platform is further increased in a particular simple andeconomic manner.

[0009] Various kinds of screw jack device may be used in the apparatusof the present invention, including, for example so-called scissorjacks. Preferably though there is used a telescopic screw jack whichgenerally comprises an elongate housing portion with a captive nutthrough which an elongate screw is secured into and out of the housingportion for telescoping therewith. Advantageously the screw jack isdriven by a motor, usually an electric motor, preferably via a reductiongear-box. Similarly the motor used to rotate the tee platform is alsousually electric and preferably provide with a reduction gear box inorder to limit the speed of movement of the tee platform and improvecontrol thereof.

[0010] Advantageously, the stability of the tee platform may be yetfurther increased against any possible pitching on its rotatable mountby an annular bearing support extending radially outwardly of therotatable mount. Any suitable form of bearing support may be usedincluding, for example, a multiplicity of angularly distributed rollerbearings.

[0011] In order to increase further the stability of the tee platformagainst any rotational displacement thereof in reaction to the swing ofa golfer standing on the tee platform in use thereof, there isadvantageously provided a locking device which is engagable, preferablyautomatically engagable, after the tee platform has been rotated to adesired position. Conveniently there is provided a locking deviceconfigured to be normally locked, being unlocked upon activation of thetee platform rotating drive motor, and re-locked upon deactivation ofthe drive motor. One particularly suitable form of locking devicecomprises a plurality of angularly distributed electromagnet units withaxially displaceable elements with end portions which function as brakepad elements extending into braking engagement with a disk brake typeplate when the electromagnets are powered up, and returning to aretracted position when the electromagnets are powered down.

[0012] The playing surface panel is generally provided with anartificial turf synthetic matting simulating grass for supporting theball on, and advantageously the matting has an outer annular zone withshorter turf for simulating fairway, an inner annular zone with longerturf for simulating rough, and a central zone having a non-slip surfacefor supporting a player thereon, typically of a natural or syntheticrubber material, or other polymeric material having a surface adapted toprovide good friction. If desired the material could have a limiteddegree of resilience. Advantageously the material is configured orformulated so as to shed water to avoid compromising its non-slipproperties.

[0013] It is generally preferred that the top surface of the mattingshould be substantially level in order to provide the player with a morenatural looking playing surface. In this case different turf lengths forthe different zones can be provided by using a stepped substrate intowhich the artificial turf fibres are anchored. A suitable turf lengthfor the outer “fairway grass” ball support zone would generally be inthe range from 5 to 15 mm, for example, about 12 mm, and for the innerball “rough grass” support zone generally in the range from 20 to 40 mm,for example, about 25 mm. If desired, the effective turf height can bevaried when required by the simple expedient of sprinkling a layer ofsand or other like particulate material onto the substrate between theturf fibres. The sand is retained by the fibres when the tee platform istilted, and can be removed when no longer needed by a vacuum cleanerapparatus. Typically the central player support zone would have adiameter of the order of 1000 mm to 1300 mm, whilst the annular“fairway” and “rough” zones would each have a radial depth or width ofaround 125 to 250 mm, for example about 200 mm.

[0014] It will be appreciated that, for particularly steep lies, eventhe longer turf may be insufficient to retain the ball in position andthe platform is advantageously provided with a flexible tubular teegenerally of the kind used in driving ranges, but with an angled topend. The tubular tee is desirably mounted in a suitable recess in theplatform substrate so as to be rotatable so that when the platform istilted, the tubular tee can be rotated so that the angle of its top endrelative to the horizontal is minimised thereby better to support theball.

[0015] The tiltable tee apparatus of the present invention can be usedfor various purposes and in various ways in order to, for example,enhance and/or make more enjoyable golf driving practice or to enhancegolf playing simulators. Thus the tiltable tee apparatus of theinvention may be used in combination with a golf driving monitoringsystem such as one or more of a target screen with impact sensors, ballflight sensors, club swing sensors, etc which system provides a readoutof one or more self drive parameters selected from length, deviation,off-line, elevation, etc. Advantageously the apparatus may be coupled tothe golf driving monitoring system so as to additionally provide areadout of one or more lie parameters selected from slope angle andslope direction of the tee platform playing surface, the apparatus beingprovided with suitable sensors to indicate the inclination of theplaying surface panel and the orientation of the tee platform (withreference to the tilting axis of the playing surface). Alternatively, acontrol device for the tiltable tee apparatus could be incorporated intothe golf drive monitoring system so that the slope angle and slopedirection of the apparatus could be controlled from said monitoringsystem, with greater or lesser degrees of user control. Thus, forexample, the lie parameters could be exclusively selectable by the user,or the system could provide a pre-programmed sequence of different lies.

[0016] The tiltable tee apparatus may also be operatively coupled to aconventional golf playing simulator so as to provide an enhanced golfplaying experience.

[0017] In general, golf simulators comprise a launch area facing ascreen at which the ball is driven and which is used to display an imageof part of a golf course; sensor devices formed and arranged fordetecting at least one of: the impact of a golf ball on the screen, theflight of the ball towards said screen, and the trajectory of the golfclub head during the golf club swing; and a computer apparatusoperatively connected to said sensor devices and programmed so as tocontrol display of part of a golf course on said screen, based on thetopography of the golf course, and the position of the launch area inrelation to said golf course, and compute an estimated trajectory of theball on the basis of the inputs received from said sensor devices,compute the projected position of the ball on the screen image based onthe estimated trajectory and the ball landing zone topography, andcontrol said display on the screen so as to display the projectedposition of the ball on the screen image. One suitable type of golfsimulator is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,139.

[0018] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, such agolf simulator is provided with a tiltable tee apparatus of the presentinvention, provided with control signal receiving inputs for a teeplatform tilting device motor and the tee platform rotation drive motor,for tilting and rotation of the tee platform respectively, towardsrequired slope angle and slope direction or orientation values, saidcontrol signal receiving inputs being operatively connected to thecomputer of said golf simulator so that the slope and slope direction ofthe tee platform may be adjusted under the control of the computer so asto be brought into correspondence with the slope angle and slopedirection values at the estimated position of the ball as defined by theball landing zone topography.

[0019] It will be appreciated that the computer can be used to controlthe tee platform in various ways. Thus on the one hand there may be useddrive motors such as stepper motors which are drivable between positionswith fixed predetermined relationships to given reference positions sothat a control signal from the computer to achieve a desired slope angleand/or slope direction is executable directly. On the other hand theremay be used a feedback system with slope angle and slope directionsensing devices provided on the tiltable tee platform and having outputsfor slope angle and slope direction signals, respectively; and a teeplatform tilting device motor and the tee platform rotation drive motor,for tilting and rotation of the tee platform respectively, towardsrequired slope angle and slope direction values.

[0020] Various suitable angular displacement sensors may be used for theslope angle and slope direction (orientation) sensing devices, andinclude resistive or capacitative sensors, optical sensors, LVDTsensors, etc. It will of course be appreciated that similar or differentkinds of sensor may be used for the slope angle and slope directionsensing devices.

[0021] Thus in accordance with one preferred aspect of the presentinvention, a tiltable tee apparatus of the present invention is providedwith:

[0022] a slope sensing device and slope direction sensing device havingoutputs for slope angle and slope direction signals, respectively; and

[0023] control signal receiving inputs for a tee platform tilting drivemotor and the tee platform rotation drive motor, for tilting androtation of the tee platform, respectively, towards required slope angleand slope direction values; said slope and slope direction sensingdevices and said slope and slope direction control signal inputs of saidapparatus being operatively connected to the computer of a said golfsimulator so that the slope and slope direction of the tee platform maybe compared by said computer with the slope and slope direction of thegolf course, at the estimated position of the ball in the ball landingzone, and the computer generate control signals for tilting and rotationof the tee platform so as to bring the slope and slope direction of thetee platform into correspondence with the slope angle and slopedirection values of said estimated position.

[0024] It will be appreciated that in use of the above apparatus, thetee platform would normally start in a neutral or zeroed configurationwith zero slope corresponding to a flat tee-off launch area. After eachdrive has been completed the tee platform slope and slope direction isthen adjusted via the simulator computer so as to bring it intocorrespondence with the slope and slope direction values at theestimated position of the ball after that drive, so that the launch areais reconfigured into a realistic lie dependent on the drive actuallyexecuted by the user.

[0025] Further preferred features and advantages of the invention willappear from the following detailed description of a preferred embodimentillustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0026]FIG. 1 is a partly cutaway side elevation of one embodiment of atiltable tee apparatus of the invention;

[0027]FIG. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 with the playingsurface panel removed;

[0028]FIG. 3 is a detail vertical sectional view of part of the drivemechanism for rotating the tiltable platform;

[0029]FIG. 4 is a partly sectioned plan view of the mechanism of FIG. 3;

[0030]FIG. 5 is a vertical section through part of the playing surfacepanel;

[0031]FIG. 6 is a partly cutaway side elevation of a further embodimentof a tiltable tee apparatus;

[0032]FIG. 7 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 6 with the playingsurface panel indicated in chain-line and part of the tee platformcutaway to show part of the ground support.

[0033]FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of a golf simulatorprovided with a tiltable tee apparatus of the invention;

[0034]FIG. 9 is a block diagram indicating the principal components ofthe simulator of FIG. 8; and

[0035]FIG. 10 is a flow diagram indicating the operation of thesimulator of FIGS. 8 and 9.

[0036]FIG. 1 shows a tiltable tee apparatus 1 of the inventioncomprising a base plate ground support 2 and a tee platform 3 rotatablymounted 4 on said ground support 2. The tee platform 3 comprises a baseportion 5 and a playing surface panel 6 hingedly connected 7 at a firstedge portion 8 to a corresponding edge portion 9 of the base portion 5.

[0037] The playing surface panel 6 is supported at a jack supportportion 10 remote from said first edge portion 8 on the upper ends 11 oftwo spaced apart screw jacks 12 pivotally connected 13 thereto. Thescrew jacks 12 have their lower ends 14 pivotally connected 15 to thebase portion 5. As shown in more detail in FIGS. 3 and 4, the base plate2 has a fixed spur gear 16 secured 17 thereto in a substantiallyhorizontal plane on the rotational axis x-x of the rotatable teeplatform 3, and the tee platform base portion 5 has a drive motor 18driving a (further) screw jack 19 which has projecting axially from itsextending portion 20 an elongate rack drive transmission member 21 fordriving engagement 22 with the spur gear 16 so as to rotate the teeplatform 3 in use of the apparatus 1.

[0038] The screw jacks 12 are mounted on a small support frame 23 onwhich is also provided a drive motor 24 fitted with a reduction gearbox25 which has output drive shafts 26 at each end 27, 28 connected torespective ones of the screw jacks 12.

[0039] A control box 29 is mounted on the base portion 5 of the teeplatform 3 and contains a configurable logic unit 30 which is used tocontrol operation of the drive motors 18, 24, in response to commandsfrom a detachable user control key pad 31 for rotating the tee platform3 in either direction or raising and lowering it subject to theoperation of contact limit switches 32 a, 32 b provided on the platformbase portion 5 by the pivotally connected lower end 14 of one of theelevating screw jacks 12 and under one of the playing surface panel jacksupport portions 10, for defining maximum and minimum inclination (forexample 30° and 0°), respectively and contact limit switches 33 a, 33 bon the tee platform base portion 5 for maximum and minimum permittedextension of the rack drive transmission member 21 corresponding toplatform rotation limits (usually 0° and 360°). A contact limit switch34 is also provided on the hinge 7 under part of the hinge pin which isdepressed in use of the apparatus by the weight of player standing onthe tee platform 3, for the purposes of disabling the motors to preventmovement of the tee platform 3 when a user is stood on it. The teeplatform base portion 5 is provided with a connector 35 for the lead 36of the user control key pad 31 and a connector 37 for a detachable powersupply 38 which is conveniently in the form of a rechargable batterypack. An externally accessible fuse box 39 is provided next to theconnectors 35, 37.

[0040] In order to protect the working parts of the apparatus againstweather and ingress of foreign bodies, and protect users frominadvertently trapping anything between the moving parts of the teeplatform 3, the latter is provided with an annular concertina skirt 40which readily extends and collapses as the playing surface panel 6 israised and lowered.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 5, the playing surface panel 6 comprises awooden tray 41 in which is disposed artificial turf matting 42comprising a substrate 43 in which are anchored plastic filaments 44simulating grass. As may be seen from the drawing, an annular outer zone45 has a deeper substrate 43 and shorter turf filaments 44 forsimulating a “fairway”, while an inner annular zone 47 has a shallowersubstrate 43 and longer turf filaments 44 for simulating “rough”. Thematting can generally provide support to a golf ball 48 and hold itagainst rolling out of position when the playing surface panel 6 isinclined, without the need for a tee to support the ball. Nevertheless aflexible plastic tube tee 49 could also be provided on the panel 6,especially for use with greater panel inclinations providing steeperlies. As shown in the drawing the top end 50 of the tube tee 49 isangled at about 45o while the bottom end 51 is a push-fit into a recess52 in the substrate 43 so that its angular orientation can be adjustedso that when the playing surface panel 6 is maximally inclined, theangled top end 50 is generally horizontal for supporting a golf ballthereon. In order to reduce the effective depth of the turf filaments44, some sand 53 or the like can be sprinkled onto the matting 42 toraise the surface of the substrate 43. When this is no longer requiredit can be removed with a vacuum suction cleaner or the like. A centralzone 53 on the playing surface panel 6 is formed of textured rubber 54to provide a non-slip surface for a user 55 to stand on.

[0042] In use of the apparatus, a user will use the key pad 31 to raiseor lower the playing surface panel 6 to the required slope inclination,and then rotate it to obtain the required kind of lie e.g. uphill ordownhill, leftward or rightward slope etc. The user can then place theball in the turf matting 42 of one of the annular zones 45, 47 or on atee 51 mounted therein and step up onto the central player support zone53 to play his/her practice drive.

[0043]FIGS. 6 and 7 show the principal parts of a further embodimentgenerally similar to that of FIGS. 1 to 5, with like reference numbersbeing used to indicate like parts.

[0044] In this embodiment the ground support 2 is in the form of arectangular tubular metal frame 60 with outwardly projecting members 61at its corners 62, the distal ends 63 of the members 61 being providedwith screw adjustable 64 feet 65 to facilitate levelling of theapparatus 1.

[0045] The rotation of the tee platform 3 in this case is effected bymeans of an integrated drive unit 66 which includes a motor 67 driving ascrew jack 68 which has an axially extending square rack 69 whichengages the spur gear 16 tangentially as before. The mounting of thescrew jacks 12 and associated drive motor 24, used to raise and lowerthe tee platform 3, have also been rearranged somewhat.

[0046] In this embodiment the ground support 2 is provided with anannular support ring 70 upon which rests a series of angularlydistributed roller bearings 71 mounted to project from the underside 72of the tee platform base portion 5, thereby providing additional supportto the tee platform 3 to minimise pitching thereof on its rotatablemounting 4.

[0047] The support ring 70 also serves as a brake disc engagable by apair of diametrically opposed brake pad units 73. In more detail theunits 73 are in the form of electromagnet units with axiallydisplaceable elements with end portions which function as brake padelements extending into braking engagement with a disk brake type platewhen the electromagnets are powered up, and returning to a retractedposition when the electromagnets are powered down.

[0048] Thus when the tee platform rotation is activated through thecontrol unit 31, the electromagnet brake pad units 73 are powered downand disengage from the support ring 70 to allow the tee platform 3 to befreely rotated by the integrated drive unit 66. When a desiredorientation of the tee platform 3 has been reached, the drive unit 66 ispowered down and the electromagnet brake pad units 73 simultaneouslypowered up again, pressing into the support ring 70 and thereby lockingthe tee platform 3 even more firmly against any possible rotation.

[0049] It will be appreciated that various modifications may be made tothe above described embodiments without departing from the scope of thepresent invention. Thus, for example, instead of a contact switch 31activated by the weight of a user standing on the tee platform, therecould be used a resistance switch which is triggered in response to theincreased current drawn from the power supply due to the increasedeffort required to rotate the tee platform when someone is standing onit.

[0050]FIG. 8 shows schematically a golf simulator 80 comprising a launcharea 81 facing a screen 82 at which the ball is driven, sensor devices83 between the launch area 81 and the screen 82 for detecting the flightof a golf ball 8 from the launch area 81 to the screen 82, a computer 84and a projector 85 for projecting an image 86 of part of a golf courseonto the screen 82. The sensor devices 83 each have opposed horizontaland vertical arrays of infra red radiation emitters 87 and detectors 88.(It will be appreciated that a large multiplicity of these is used inorder to obtain a relatively accurate ‘fix’ on the ball position as itpasses the sensor devices 83, but only a few are shown for clarity.)

[0051] The launch area 81 is in the form of a tiltable tee apparatussuch as that shown in FIGS. 1-5 or FIG.6 and has its playing surfacepanel 89 tilted at a slope angle a to the horizontal and rotated awayfrom the main axis 90 at a slope direction angle β.

[0052] As shown schematically in FIG. 9, the tiltable tee apparatus 81is provided with tilt angle and orientation angle sensors 91, 92, forsensing the tilt angle α and the orientation angle 8 of the playingsurface 89, connected 93, 94 to the computer 84 for providingcorresponding output signals thereto. The tee apparatus 81 also has itstilt motor 95 and orientation motor 96 connected 97, 98 to the computer84 for receiving control signal inputs therefrom for adjusting the tiltangle α and orientation angle β of the playing surface 89.

[0053] The ball flight sensor devices 83 are connected 99 to thecomputer 84 to provide ball flight data input signals thereto, and theprojector 85 is connected 100 to the computer for receiving image datasignals therefrom for display on the screen 82. The computer 84 is alsoprovided with a user interface, conveniently in the form of a touchscreen display 101, which can be used for inter alia resetting thesimulator, entering user selections, e.g., choice of golf course and/orhole to be “played”, etc.

[0054] The operation of the simulator is summarized in FIG. 10, when thesimulator is to be used it is initially reset, with the tee platformbeing levelled so that the tilt angle α and orientation angle β are bothzero. The user then selects a particular course and/or particular holdwhich he(she) wishes to play. The computer computes the course view fromthe tee for the selected hole and this is then projected onto the screenby the projector. The user drives the ball towards the screen with thedisplayed golf course image and the flight of the ball is monitored bythe sensing devices. The captured ball flight data is used by thecomputer to estimate the ball trajectory which is compared with the golfcourse topography data to estimate the ball landing position which isthen displayed on the screen. The computer computes the slope angle andslope direction at the ball landing position lie from the coursetopographical data and compares it with the values indicated for theplaying surface of the tilting tee platform by the slope angle anddirection sensors, and sends control signals to the tilting andorientation drive motors as required until these values have beenbrought into correspondence with those at the new lie. The computer alsocomputes the new course view from the new lie and displays it on thescreen via the projector, and the player may then make his second drivewhereupon the process may be repeated.

[0055] It will be appreciated that it may be preferable for safetyreasons to avoid any reconfiguration of the slope angle or direction ofthe playing surface of the tee platform while a player is still standingon the platform. This could be conveniently effected by for examplerequiring the player to dismount the tee platform and enter a suitablecommand on the computer user interface in order to release a teeplatform

1. A tiltable tee apparatus suitable for use in practising golf drivingand comprising a ground support, and a tee platform rotatably mounted onsaid ground support, said tee platform comprising a base portion and aplaying surface panel hingedly connected at a first edge portion to acorresponding edge portion of said base portion, said playing surfacepanel being supported at a jack support portion remote from said firstedge portion on an upper end of at least one screw jack pivotallyconnected thereto, said at least one screw jack having its lower endpivotally connected to said base portion, one of said ground support andtee platform base portion having a fixed spur gear secured thereto in asubstantially horizontal plane on the rotational axis of said rotatabletee platform, and the other having mounted thereon a drive motor with anelongate toothed drive output transmission member for driving engagementwith said spur gear so as to rotate said tee platform in use of theapparatus, whereby in use of the apparatus said tee platform may betilted throughout a range of slope angles and slope directions byoperation of said at least one screw jack and said tee platform rotationdrive motor.
 2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the elongatetoothed drive output transmission member comprises a worm screw rotated,in use of the apparatus, directly or indirectly, by the motor.
 3. Anapparatus according to claim 1 wherein the elongate toothed drive outputtransmission member comprises an elongate rack member driven by a screwjack device operated by said drive motor.
 4. An apparatus according toany one of claims 1 to 3 wherein at least one said screw jack is ascissor jack.
 5. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3wherein at least one said screw jack is a telescopic screw jack.
 6. Anapparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the tee platformtilting screw jack is driven by a motor.
 7. An apparatus according toany one of claims 1 to 6 wherein at least one said motor is providedwith a reduction gear-box.
 8. An apparatus according to any one ofclaims 1 to 7 wherein is provided an annular bearing support extendingradially outwardly of the rotatable mount.
 9. An apparatus according toclaim 8 wherein said annular bearing comprises a multiplicity ofangularly distributed roller bearings.
 10. An apparatus according to anyone of claims 1 to 9 wherein is provided a locking device which isengagable after the tee platform has been rotated to a desired position.11. An apparatus according to claim 10 wherein is provided a lockingdevice configured to be normally locked, being unlocked upon activationof the tee platform rotating drive motor, and re-locked upondeactivation of the drive motor.
 12. An apparatus according to claim 10or claim 11 wherein said locking device comprises a plurality ofangularly distributed electromagnet units with axially displaceableelements with end portions which function as brake pad elementsextending into braking engagement with a disk brake type plate when theelectromagnets are powered up, and returning to a retracted positionwhen the electromagnets are powered down.
 13. An apparatus according toany one of claims 1 to 12 wherein the playing surface panel is providedwith an artificial turf synthetic matting simulating grass forsupporting the ball on.
 14. An apparatus according to claim 13 whereinthe matting has an outer annular zone with shorter turf for simulatingfairway, an inner annular zone with longer turf for simulating rough,and a central zone having a non-slip surface for supporting a playerthereon.
 15. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14 whichapparatus is coupled to a golf driving monitoring system so as toadditionally provide a readout of one or more lie parameters selectedfrom slope angle and slope direction of the tee platform playingsurface, the apparatus being provided with suitable sensors to indicatethe inclination of the playing surface panel and the orientation of thetee platform.
 16. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14coupled to a golf driving monitoring system with the control device ofthe tiltable tee apparatus incorporated into the golf drive monitoringsystem so that the slope angle and slope direction of the apparatus canbe controlled from said monitoring system.
 17. An apparatus according toany one of claims 1 to 14 when operatively coupled to a golf playingsimulator so as to provide an enhanced golf playing experience.
 18. Anapparatus according to claim 17 wherein the golf simulator comprises alaunch area facing a screen at which the ball is driven and which isused to display an image of part of a golf course; sensor devices formedand arranged for detecting at least one of: the impact of a golf ball onthe screen, the flight of the ball towards said screen, and thetrajectory of the golf club head during the golf club swing; and acomputer apparatus operatively connected to said sensor devices andprogrammed so as to control display of part of a golf course on saidscreen, based on the topography of the golf course, and the position ofthe launch area in relation to said golf course, and compute anestimated trajectory of the ball on the basis of the inputs receivedfrom said sensor devices, compute the projected position of the ball onthe screen image based on the estimated trajectory and the ball landingzone topography, and control said display on the screen so as to displaythe projected position of the ball on the screen image.
 19. An apparatusaccording to claim 18 wherein the tiltable tee apparatus is providedwith control signal receiving inputs for a tee platform tilting devicemotor and the tee platform rotation drive motor, for tilting androtation of the tee platform respectively, towards required slope angleand slope direction or orientation values, said control signal receivinginputs being operatively connected to the computer of said golfsimulator so that the slope and slope direction of the tee platform maybe adjusted under the control of the computer so as to be brought intocorrespondence with the slope angle and slope direction values at theestimated position of the ball as defined by the ball landing zonetopography.
 20. An Apparatus according to claim 19 wherein the computeris used to control stepper drive motors which are drivable betweenpositions with fixed predetermined relationships to given referencepositions so that a control signal from the computer to achieve adesired slope angle and/or slope direction is executable directly. 21.An apparatus according to claims 19 wherein there is used a feedbacksystem with slope angle and slope direction sensing devices provided onthe tiltable tee platform and having outputs for slope angle and slopedirection signals, respectively; and a tee platform tilting device motorand the tee platform rotation drive motor, for tilting and rotation ofthe tee platform respectively, towards required slope angle and slopedirection values.
 22. An Apparatus according to claim 21 wherein theslope angle and slope direction (orientation) sensing devices, areselected from resistive or capacitative sensors, optical sensors andLVDT sensors.
 23. A tiltable tee apparatus according to any one ofclaims 17 to 22 wherein is provided: a slope sensing device and slopedirection sensing device having outputs for slope angle and slopedirection signals, respectively; and control signal receiving inputs fora tee platform tilting drive motor and the tee platform rotation drivemotor, for tilting and rotation of the tee platform, respectively,towards required slope angle and slope direction values; said slope andslope direction sensing devices and said slope and slope directioncontrol signal inputs of said apparatus being operatively connected tothe computer of a said golf simulator so that the slope and slopedirection of the tee platform may be compared by said computer with theslope and slope direction of the golf course, at the estimated positionof the ball in the ball landing zone, and the computer generate controlsignals for tilting and rotation of the tee platform so as to bring theslope and slope direction of the tee platform into correspondence withthe slope angle and slope direction values of said estimated position.